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Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Nikko: Shoyoen garden - Utsunomiya and Nikko Part 3

This is part 3 of a trip to Utsunomiya and Nikko. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here. We woke up the next morning after our monkey adventure and made a quick decision to go to Nikko. Nikko is one of my favourite places near Tokyo (this was the 5th time I have been). I went to Nikko at Autumn time 2 years ago when the leaves are beautiful reds, oranges and yellows. You can read about those Nikko posts here and here.We got to Nikko (about a 40 minute train ride from Utsunomiya) and made our way to the World Heritage Shrines and Temples area. Being that it was a weekend day, the crowds were crazy but we managed to find a nice quiet area away from the crowds to enjoy some nature and monuments to the Tokugawa shogunate. I didn't take any photos of those as I had already done so in my previous posts about Nikko. We then went over to a beautiful Japanese garden (that I had taken photos of at night when the Autumn leaves were present and had posted about in the above links) on the grounds of Rinnoji Temple called Shoyoen. The garden was made early in the Edo period and is approximately 400 years old. This post is primarily going to be a pictorial post as I think the photos will describe the garden much better than my words. Please enjoy.

A nice pond full of carp.

A lovely old tea house.

Simply stunning...

And moss, everywhere moss!

And baby mushrooms.

It was getting later in the afternoon so we decided to head back toward the station. Passing by the always beautiful Shinkyo, or Sacred Bridge. Realising our bellies were rumbling, we stopped for a huge bowl of ramen on our way back.

So huge, none of us could finish our bowls!We got back to Nikko station and wearily made our way back to Tokyo, enjoying the Green car ride again, for that extra comfort and rest!Well, that finishes this series on Nikko. I always enjoy Nikko, as I said, one of my favourite places and highly recommended for a 1 or 2 night trip, or even for a day trip from Tokyo. Please leave a comment below, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Until next time, Bye.

2 comments:

Hi Jason.Have heard about Nikko from a former workmate of mine , who has been their twice.Never got around to going there,as I was based in Mie ken,near Nagoya.It is nice for me to see a lovely set of pthotos.Reminded me of similar parts of Japan I visited.The moss caught my eye.I remember chatting to a gardener in Kyoto.She had an eyebrow tweezer in her hand and was pulling out the tiny weeds/grasses that were growing in the moss.Like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge!By now you have no doubt heard the Dons have secured the coach they and the fans wanted.Glad to hear his main aim , will be to get the forwards scoring a lot more goals.However, the current crop of forwards have been :hopeless:Perhaps, they can recruit a couple of highflyers that can kick straight!All the best from burning hot southern aust.Noel.

Hi Noel,that story of the gardener in Kyoto is so Japanese, such attention to detail. One place that I aim to go to next time I am in Kyoto is Saihoji Temple. The temple grounds are covered with moss. So spectacular!I had heard of the new coach. I am happy with that selection. I watched a video of his introduction to the players. He is definitely saying the right things. No, to get Jake Carlisle to stay....Until next time,Jason.